The present invention relates to the field of edible food products and, more specifically, pertains to a condiment product useful as a substitute for ketchup.
Ketchup is a well known and widely used condiment which is comprised of a basic tomato paste of a thick, yet flowable, consistency wherein various spices and seasoning agents are incorporated to provide the desired flavor. While tomato paste comprises a major portion of the product, both on a weight and volume basis, its contribution to the taste thereof is limited to the tomato flavor that it provides. The spices and seasonings which are added to the tomato paste in preparing ketchup are the primary contributors to the distinctive flavor associated with the condiment and provide it with its unique identity as ketchup.
However, tomato paste is the most critical ingredient of ketchup and, in fact, its presence is required in order to label the product as such. The most significant function of the tomato paste is to provide the basic consistency and degree of flowability which is generally associated with ketchup. In fact, the degree of the flow associated with ketchup is considered by those in the art to be very important in the eye of the consumer and, accordingly, it is a critical factor requiring control in the manufacturing process therefor.
Various attempts have been made in the prior art to simulate a ketchup product by providing a substitute for a portion of the tomato paste, either partially or in toto. U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,862 (Hoover et al.) provides a partially simulated product, wherein various forms of filler, such as starch, corn meal, soy product or animal protein, have been substituted for a large portion of the tomato solids. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,630,757 (Meid) a simulated tomato product is provided containing substantially no tomato solids, but having substituted therefor a bodying agent, preferably mustard seed hulls, together with a gum or starch material. However, none of the products known in the prior art provide the novel and unique advantages of the ketchup substitute of the present invention.